Hello everyone,

I love to repair, service, and upgrade computers! It is so much fun investigating and replacing computer parts with new and better components, and then seeing the increased performance of the finished product.

What I don’t like is to work on computers that don’t have standard designs. Machines that have non-standard parts are a pain to build and repair, and are much more expensive to service and maintain in the long run. Please give me Newegg or TigerDirect industry standard, generic components that will all work well together and interchange seamlessly.

Now there is no doubt that many of the custom form factor computers are very stylish (I actually have a gorgeous 13″ MacBook Pro). Stunning, yes – powerful, yes – efficient, yes. But… more expensive, yes – more difficult to repair, yes – more proprietary in nature, yes! I have to buy a $29.00 mini-displayport adapter just to hook up my external monitor. If I need a part or want to upgrade, I have to get the component from the original manufacturer (in this case Apple).

I’m not just bashing Apple machines either. I have seen many Dell, Sony, IBM, Compaq, etc. machines with nonstandard motherboards, power supplies, and the likes. By creating a machine with proprietary parts, the manufacturer is basically trying to “tie you down” to his brand. Instead of repairing or upgrading these computers, it is often less expensive to just start over with a new generic case, PSU, mobo, etc. while reusing some of the original parts.

So, just as Patrick Henry said (concerning a much more important matter) : “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death”, I say (concerning a computer repair job): “Give Me Standard Parts Or Give Me More Money”.

Professor Randy says: Wouldn’t it be nice if all computer manufacturers used generic, industry standard design components that would interchange and work well together?